(Yicai) May 28 -- With global trade becoming more unpredictable, a number of Chinese manufacturers of industrial products, which are items mainly used in business or industrial settings, who used to mostly sell their products overseas are now turning their attention back to China, and major e-commerce platforms are becoming key partners in this shift.

Shenzhen Everbest Machinery Industry, a supplier of measuring instruments, plans to launch a new artificial intelligence power quality analyzer on digital marketplace JD.com during the mid-year online shopping promotion season to boost sales at home, said Board Secretary Ji Hong. The device uses an AI large model to trace the cause of power quality issues.

"China has the biggest manufacturing and industrial scale in the world and huge market potential. We’re seeing an increasing number of use cases popping up here,” said Ji. “Expanding into our home market doesn’t just boost sales, it also helps us develop more innovative products, which can, in turn, strengthen our overseas business.”

Last year, Shenzhen-based Everbest posted operating revenue of CNY807 million (USD112 million), 88.7 percent of which came from outside China.

Guangzhou Venus Intelligent Technology, which makes smart home devices, is tapping into China's consumer market using online retail channels as international sales become less predictable, said General Manager Liu Lixin.

But breaking into the local market has its challenges, especially for companies used to doing business abroad. “We do not yet have local marketing channels or talent pools. And we need a better understanding of consumer trends, of market characteristics and of the state of the new retail industry,” Liu said.

Due to years of adhering to a strict industrial division of labor, many foreign trade firms focus solely on product development and manufacturing, and they lack marketing and operations experience in the domestic market, a business manager at Beijing-based JD.com told Yicai. This makes it difficult for them to expand locally.

E-commerce platforms, with their rich experience in smart supply chain management, can offer support to manufacturers with limited experience in the domestic market to help them improve their operations and build their brand, the person said. They can also use Big Data to help factories understand customer needs better, and thereby speed up new product development.

Editor: Kim Taylor